What happens when you can’t work out what’s real?

Today, I have the great pleasure of being the host on DAY 6 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Richard David Price, author of the brand new book Beating the Adversary: A True Story of Schizoaffective Disorder, officially released on 1st December, 2014. On its début, it became Amazon’s #1 best-selling new release in ‘schizophrenia’.

Richard David Price

RICHARD DAVID PRICE was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder as a teenager, as a result of a childhood accident.

Despite his difficult adolescence, he went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Business and has two children to whom he is devoted.

He is a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and feels his mission in life is to help spread hope that we all can overcome our personal challenges.

Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Richard on hallucinations, therapies and other elements he encounters in dealing with his condition.

***INTERVIEW***

CHRISTINE: When you first began having hallucinations and visions, what feelings did this provoke in you?

RICHARD: That is a good question. Oddly enough, the hallucinations really didn’t provoke me as much as the first time I heard a voice out of place. It put my guard up, so when the hallucinations started to happen, they weren’t as surprising as they could have been.

CHRISTINE: How did you try to disguise what was happening from your family, your friends, and yourself, and how did this affect your relationships and self-worth?

RICHARD: Well, I really didn’t think badly of myself. To my mind, I was under attack and felt I could be killed at any time. Why would I feel badly about myself? How was any of that my fault?

My decline went from really slow, to very, very fast. When my friends left, that was the least of my worries. I grew up with a big family, so I could come and go as I pleased. I kept to myself, usually in my room or someplace working out. My senior year, I got a gym pass and spent all my free time there getting ready for the next day. There wasn’t a lot of feeling sorry for myself. It was more about figuring out the next clue to solve the puzzle of what was going on with me.

I once had a dream that was very real, before I got too sick. In this dream, I had to overcome a series of obstacles, each one harder than the last. I found that by being quiet and never lying, I could beat all the obstacles. But in the beginning there were lots of people fighting to beat the path; in the end, there was only me.

CHRISTINE: How were you able to share what was happening with your family and gain support?

RICHARD: I did not share a single word of it unless pinned down, like the time I burst into tears while talking to my Mom. I told her I didn’t know why I was crying, and it was true. It was very hard to reach out to people.

CHRISTINE: How were you able to distinguish between what was real and what was a hallucination, and what therapies or interventions most supported your ability to eventually emerge from and manage these experiences?

RICHARD: I couldn’t make that distinction. The hallucinations were too powerful. Eventually, I shaved my head for no good reason, and my mom (the real hero of my story) decided to take me to the hospital. There I started medication, and then started to wake up – to see the light.

***END OF INTERVIEW***

When you buy Beating the Adversary during its official Amazon launch, you’ll also receive a free novel entitled The Ladder from Conditional Publications – an independent publisher dedicated to writers with neurological conditions.

Be sure to follow Richard’s book tomorrow on the next stop of his Virtual Blog Tour, when Beating the Adversary editor Vrinda Pendred will be talking to Lynn Serafinn on the Spirit Authors blog athttp://spiritauthors.com/category/new-books/

Christine is a psychologist, executive coach, mentor, speaker, published author and poet. With a varied and successful 25-year career in research and consulting across diverse sectors, she now conducts leadership and organisational transformations. As a guide and mentor she seeks to release untapped potential in her clients.

She has recently completed extensive research into creating sustainable cultures for more values-driven, loving, compassionate organisations, with over sixty global leaders, ranging from HH the Dalai Lama to Sir Terry Leahy and The Rt Hon Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business. Christine is a Fellow of London Metropolitan University Business School’s Centre for Progressive Leadership.

Christine is able to adapt to different environments and issues quickly, where she is known for her ethical approach, her empathy, her stimulating and thought-provoking method of questioning, and for her ability to put people at ease. She is renowned for her creative resourcefulness and wisdom, her penetrating analysis, insights and ability to provoke transformational thinking and action for organisations and individual coaching and consulting clients worldwide.